We employ highly talented and ambitious people, so expect they will want to continue to progress their career within or beyond our organisation. We support and encourage our people in building their careers and finding new ways to contribute.

Mentoring and coaching 

We provide access to a variety of mentoring, shadowing and career coaching opportunities. We believe taking time to reflect and learn about one's own working and leadership traits and performance is good for both individuals and the organisation as a whole.  We also encourage our staff to use these opportunities to develop and refine their career plans, enable personal and professional goal setting and prepare for competitive selection processes. 

Promotion and advancement

We are highly supportive of our staff progressing and advancing in their careers, including through internal progression and external opportunities.  In all our processes, we support equality of opportunity for professional growth and advancement. We regularly run recruitment processes and expressions of interest that allow staff to act temporarily at higher levels or achieve permanent promotion. We also offer our staff unique opportunities to demonstrate and develop their skills, helping them be more competitive in other processes. 

Secondments and scholarships

We regularly help our staff take short and longer-term secondments with policy and other National Intelligence Community agencies, as well as with international partners. We also have a small number of staff posted internationally, including in our liaison offices in Washington and London. And we support high-performing staff to undertake scholarships and international study opportunities, including Sir Roland Wilson PhD scholarships and the McCain Institute national security fellowship program.

A gateway to an intelligence career

A role with the Office of National Intelligence can be a great way to enter and start building a career in the National Intelligence Community. Many of our staff move on to further roles with other members of the Community. The Community offers a wide variety of roles and career pathways you can pursue across different agencies. Find out more about the work of the National Intelligence Community and where an intelligence career could take you.

Alumni connections

Office of National Intelligence staff have moved onto a variety of roles after they have worked with us, including across policy departments, ministerial offices, operational agencies, think tanks, universities and the private sector. It is also not uncommon for those who have worked previously with us to return later in their careers. We maintain an alumni network to help staff stay in contact with the organisation and each other.

Help safeguard Australia and shape the future of intelligence.